


jar of hearts

by falloutmars



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Neighbors, F/M, Fluff, Meet-Cute, but its cute still, well... more of a Meet-Kinda-Awkward
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-24
Updated: 2020-04-24
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:48:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23827873
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/falloutmars/pseuds/falloutmars
Summary: Betty Cooper does not need a man.She definitely does not need a man. She’s a strong, independent woman who does not need a man to help her. It’s just this goddamn jar is so difficult to open.–or, a story ofI've only ever smiled at you in the elevator but I can't open this jar please help.
Relationships: Betty Cooper/Jughead Jones
Comments: 22
Kudos: 91
Collections: 7th Bughead Fanfiction Awards - Nominees





	jar of hearts

**Author's Note:**

> wow! an upload that isn't serendipity! 
> 
> please enjoy this short but sweet neighbors au.

Betty Cooper does not need a man. 

She _definitely_ does not need a man. She’s a strong, independent woman who does not need a man to help her. It’s just this goddamn jar is so difficult to open. 

And it’s her dinner. The pot of penne pasta boiling away on her stove has almost finished cooking so now all she needs is to be able to open the last jar of premade tomato and basil pasta sauce in her cupboard.

_Why is the lid on so damn tight?_

She sighs, carelessly sliding the jar across the counter and away from her. It’d be easier if it smashed, she thinks, because at least she could scoop up the sauce that isn’t covered in glass or dirt and make a meal out of that rather than do what she’s contemplating.

She rubs her arm, wondering why she’s not the _strong_ woman she wants to be. Maybe she should’ve taken up Veronica’s offer of a gym membership after all, then she definitely would not need a man in her life. But she thinks she does. For this, at least. 

Her next-door neighbor is a man she has had little contact with since moving in just under a month ago. She bumps into him occasionally in their building’s elevator, but they haven’t spoken. Just a small smile as they press the same button and walking out behind him only to see him go into the door next to hers. 

Their apartments mirror each other, she knows that, and he wears a knitted beanie even though it’s August in New York City. Other than that, he’s a stranger. Although she can’t say his attractiveness hasn’t crossed her mind on more than one occasion. 

But can she really ask someone she knows nothing about, not even his _name_ , to open a jar of pasta sauce for her? 

The answer is no, she’d rather not, but currently, she doesn’t have much choice. 

She waits for the timer for her pasta to go off, testing it, draining it, and returning it to the pot. She grabs the jar and a door key, and heads towards the front door, pausing to assess her image in the mirror. Her hair is down in messy, damp curls from her shower when she got home from work, her face makeup-less, and she’s dressed in an old, oversized Riverdale High hoodie and River Vixens shorts. Definitely not the look she’d usually go for to make a good first impression - first _proper_ impression - but it’ll have to do. 

Stepping into the corridor makes her regret everything up to this moment. She cannot possibly ask a _stranger_ to open her jar for her, not when she's Independent Woman Betty Cooper, not when she has to _live_ next to this guy. 

But she really wants dinner. 

So she pushes all lingering thoughts out of her mind and walks the three steps from her front door to his. She knocks gently and waits for an answer. 

It comes an agonizing minute later. 

“Hi?” he says, confused. 

“Hey.” She forgets to jump straight into the problem, as she planned, and instead ends up awkwardly watching him not knowing what to do. 

“You’re from next door, right?” he asks after a moment. 

She nods. “Yeah.” The weight of the jar in her hand manages to snap her back to reality. “Oh! Sorry to bother you. I was wondering-”

He interrupts her. “It’s okay. Can I… help you?” His voice goes up at the end and he tilts his head to the side in question. 

( _Cute_ , Betty thinks.)

“I can’t open this jar.” The hand holding the jar moves to pass it to him. She sighs. “Can you please help?”

“Sure.” He lets out a breathy giggle, lifting the awkward atmosphere slightly. He takes the jar and studies it, mouth twisting into a small smirk. 

“Don’t judge,” she says almost defensively. “It’s been a long day.”

He shakes his head. “It’s healthier than anything I usually eat.”

She doesn’t reply to that, thinking it’s probably best to get this over and done with. She’s already embarrassed herself enough by asking him in the first place. 

Avoiding his gaze, she hears the _pop_ signaling his success so she risks looking up from her shoe-less feet. 

“Here,” he says, offering her the now-open jar. 

She smiles, taking it back. “Thanks.”

They stand there for a moment, neither knowing whether to say or do anything else. Betty feels like she should introduce herself, or maybe she should just leave and continue to smile politely when she runs into him in the elevator again. Part of her is drawn to him though. Part of her doesn’t want to scurry back to her apartment and forever live in a pained awkwardness. 

So she doesn’t.

“I’m Betty, by the way,” she offers, friendly smile plastered onto her face. She wants to offer her hand for him to shake but she’s holding the jar in her right hand and offering her left could make this situation even more awkward.

Luckily, he smiles back. “I’m Jughead.”

_Interesting_ , she thinks, but instead saying, “Nice to meet you properly.”

He swallows thickly, glancing around before his eyes meet hers again. “With the risk of being too forward, so feel free to tell me to fuck off, would you like to join me for homemade burgers? I’d hate to see you go-”

“Yes.” 

His eyes light up, a smile covering his face. “Really?”

“Yeah,” she says, returning the smile. “I’d love that.”

She follows him inside, taking note of how weird it is to see her apartment but mirrored. His is nicely decorated, though. All white and gray with matching furniture. It’s clean-looking, cleaner than hers, and smells of burgers and fries. Decision well-made, she thinks already. 

Jughead tells her to take a seat, and she does. Before he serves them both a healthy portion, he takes the jar from her and throws it in the trash. Betty laughs, and the atmosphere between them becomes a lot more relaxed, with conversation flowing freely as they eat. 

Throughout the evening, they get to know each other more and more. A situation that started off awkward somehow ended in laughter and a newly formed friendship between two neighbors, with lingering thoughts of _something more_. 

Later that night, back in her own apartment, she finds herself giggling at the abandoned penne pasta, forever sauceless.

So maybe Betty Cooper doesn’t _need_ a man, but that’s not to say she doesn’t _want_ one.

**Author's Note:**

> hello! 
> 
> this past week, i've written 4 ~1k meet-cute type aus that i'm surprisingly happy with. i started with the goal of getting through the dreaded writers block but actually came up with some hopefully good stuff. i decided ignoring canon was the way forward, hence the random cliche au, but tropes arent always a bad thing, right?
> 
> anyway, i hope you enjoyed this first one. 
> 
> thank you for reading, leaving kudos, and leaving comments. i appreciate every single one of you.
> 
> stay safe & have a good day.


End file.
